Disneyland First Time Booker - HELP!!

[wayneg]

There are some things at Universal your girls might really enjoy but my opinion would be concentrate on Disney for your first trip.
We have taken relatives past few years, their Daughter is around same age as your Daughters. More than enough to do at Disney & SeaWorld (we also had a day at Busch Gardens each trip)

Universal does add a lot on to the cost, we were Annual pass holders for about 9 years in a row, they used to be $99/year but price kept rising so we stopped about 3 years ago. DW & DS would love to go back and see the new Harry Potter area this year but I don't think its worth the price, DS is trying to pull some strings to get some Comp tickets, we will see.

 

[daz1985]

There are some things at Universal your girls might really enjoy but my opinion would be concentrate on Disney for your first trip.
We have taken relatives past few years, their Daughter is around same age as your Daughters. More than enough to do at Disney & SeaWorld (we also had a day at Busch Gardens each trip)

Universal does add a lot on to the cost, we were Annual pass holders for about 9 years in a row, they used to be $99/year but price kept rising so we stopped about 3 years ago. DW & DS would love to go back and see the new Harry Potter area this year but I don't think its worth the price, DS is trying to pull some strings to get some Comp tickets, we will see.

hi my children are actually both boys
the youngest would have just turned 4 - i think i know the answer already but i guess he's not too young for it? ie there are rides/attractions we can do as a family??
can get busch, seaworld and another one for £310 but maybe could get it cheaper if i had time to shop around. bloody internet isnt working so have to go online on my phone - not ideal when trying to plan/book

 

[wayneg]

hi my children are actually both boys
the youngest would have just turned 4 - i think i know the answer already but i guess he's not too young for it? ie there are rides/attractions we can do as a family??
can get busch, seaworld and another one for £310 but maybe could get it cheaper if i had time to shop around. bloody internet isnt working so have to go online on my phone - not ideal when trying to plan/book

Oops, sorry, no idea why I assumed girls.

All parks cater for all ages, there are things they can do under 5 they are too old for later.

I need to start looking at SW/Busch tickets for relatives, thankfully we have Annual passes for them both.

 

[daz1985]

the flights on virgin have shot up since yesterday. the price for 15-29 has gone up by £1000!! is that what happens with flights generally? book early or be disappointed? i applied for a credit card today and the outcome of that will determine if we are even going on holiday but i dont want to miss out if prices are going to rise stupidly!

 

[wayneg]

the flights on virgin have shot up since yesterday. the price for 15-29 has gone up by £1000!! is that what happens with flights generally? book early or be disappointed? i applied for a credit card today and the outcome of that will determine if we are even going on holiday but i dont want to miss out if prices are going to rise stupidly!

Not sure where you saw them cheaper but thats why I was quoting 14-28th as there was a massive jump for the day after.

In general yes, book flights as soon as you are happy with the price, they can jump at any time, then again the can go down again in a sale. You have no idea. I booked for relatives last week at £2,295, now over £1,000 more.

 

[daz1985]

Hi I booked it last night - 12th May to 26th May (flights were cheaper) it was £2200 for flights and £2003 for pop century plus tickets - minus the relevant quidco. VERY EXCITED!!!

Thanks to all who have helped inform me before my booking, but there are a few other questions I have please:

virgin mentioned a ESTA thing - is this relevant to us?
any tips on places to book insurance?

thanks

 

[joolz1910]

Hi I booked it last night - 12th May to 26th May (flights were cheaper) it was £2200 for flights and £2003 for pop century plus tickets - minus the relevant quidco. VERY EXCITED!!!

Thanks to all who have helped inform me before my booking, but there are a few other questions I have please:

virgin mentioned a ESTA thing - is this relevant to us?
any tips on places to book insurance?

thanks

Congratulations on booking!

You will need to get ESTA's for everyone going. It's a very simple online application which you will need your passport numbers for. It costs $14 per person.
Check with your bank to see if they offer insurance. I got mine through Nationwide, which had ample cover and was quite cheap as I bank with them.

 

[wayneg]

Hi I booked it last night - 12th May to 26th May (flights were cheaper) it was £2200 for flights and £2003 for pop century plus tickets - minus the relevant quidco. VERY EXCITED!!!

Thanks to all who have helped inform me before my booking, but there are a few other questions I have please:

virgin mentioned a ESTA thing - is this relevant to us?
any tips on places to book insurance?

thanks

As Juliette says you need an ESTA for everyone who is travelling, they last 2 years and cost $14pp, make sure you use the official link as there are sites out there who will try charge a lot more. https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/

For travel insurance have a look at what Quidco offer, probably get paid to do a comparison search http://www.quidco.com/travel-insurance/
Make sure you get adequate cover, don't just take the cheapest. my policy is at home so not 100% sure but I think I am with the Post Office this year.

ETA: forget that, I am with the AA, I remember installing the App on my phone.

 

[Sam1]

Hi I booked it last night - 12th May to 26th May (flights were cheaper) it was £2200 for flights and £2003 for pop century plus tickets - minus the relevant quidco. VERY EXCITED!!!

Thanks to all who have helped inform me before my booking, but there are a few other questions I have please:

virgin mentioned a ESTA thing - is this relevant to us?
any tips on places to book insurance?

thanks

It's a good feeling when you've booked, isn't it!

What tickets did you decide on in the end? Just Disney, or are you getting Universal or Seaworld ones as well?

 

[daz1985]

It's a good feeling when you've booked, isn't it!

What tickets did you decide on in the end? Just Disney, or are you getting Universal or Seaworld ones as well?

hi we aren't going to do universal as my wife wants to do seaworld and I think that and Disney will be enough (hopefully with a day trip to kennedy space center but we'll see).

going to get seaworld and busch gardens tickets at a later date.

I hope this esta thing doesn't take long as we haven't got our passports yet and I assume you need the numbers to book...!

do Disney have plug adaptors does anyone know or do we need to bring some over? we'll have lots on charge no doubt!

 

[Elise79]

Well done on booking

You will need to take adapters but the best tip to charge lots of things is take a 4 way extension lead as you only need one adapter then and you have 4 sockets to use

ESTAs need to be completed 72 hours prior to travel and usually only take a couple of minutes to authorise although can take up to 24 hours.

 

[DLPDreams]

Yay

Glad you got booked up. Sounds great

I know this might put a spanner in the works, but are you planning on going to Busch? So many people I know say it's amazing and often their fave of all the parks out there. So, if you are buying a combined ticket with it on, you may want to think about going and leave the space center for another trip .

Having said that, we sadly won't be doing it on our visit, as we are going to do Universal (2 days) and also Discovery Cove (1 day), and plan a few days at the Disney waterparks too. I would love to go but just can't fit it all in in one trip!

Good luck with planning!

 

[chmurf]

and also Discovery Cove (1 day), and plan a few days at the Disney waterparks too. I would love to go but just can't fit it all in in one trip!

You might have decided on that, but remember that your DC ticket gets you into seaworld and Aquatica for 14 days (period must include the DC date) . and for a few more quids you get Busch for 14 days (incl. transportation)

That's a lot to fit in a short stay. But since you pay for it, you might as well use it ... just sayin'.

 

[DLPDreams]

You might have decided on that, but remember that your DC ticket gets you into seaworld and Aquatica for 14 days (period must include the DC date) . and for a few more quids you get Busch for 14 days (incl. transportation)

That's a lot to fit in a short stay. But since you pay for it, you might as well use it ... just sayin'.

Yes, thanks, I realise that but there just isn't time to fit everything in so we've had to prioritise. It does make DC a very expensive day but dolphin interaction is something the girls are desperate to do. The more people I talk to though (who have been), say Busch is the best out there! In addition, my parents are not doing DC so won't have tickets for Busch etc, so it means we'd be split up again. I was originally looking to do Seaworld but I've gone off the idea. Would much rather concentrate on US/WDW & waterparks/DC/mall shopping for this trip as our children are young and will need plenty of rest days/breaks etc.

 

[daz1985]

has anyone here ever needed insurance for a pre existing medical issue?

I was born with a hole in the wall of my heart and it was corrected aged 4. I still go for annual check ups but always they say im doing ok.

it really annoys me that I get stung when it comes to insurance (took AGES to get any sort of life cover). to insure our trip was £85 if declared (and the policy was **** too) or for a brilliant policy otherwise it was £28. can I just insure my family minus me or maybe separately from me or does it have to all be together? I'd happily buy a policy knowing that it wont cover for this condition so long as it covered me for anything else such as broken leg etc

 

[edinburghlass]

I pay £60 excess for existing medical condition so I think you have a good deal there. I wouldn't dream of scriping on medical insurance for USA. Family next door to us last year child ended up in hospital for two days and one night and bill was £2.5k all taken care of by their insurance.

 

[bex7583]

glad you got booked sounds exciting

are you going to book some adrs ? u have such a short countdown untill your holiday

is it a surprise trip or do ure kids know

also another extra expense you may not have thought about but i think was great is a photopass we got so many ride photos on ours it was well worth the money

 

[daz1985]

glad you got booked sounds exciting

are you going to book some adrs ? u have such a short countdown untill your holiday

is it a surprise trip or do ure kids know

also another extra expense you may not have thought about but i think was great is a photopass we got so many ride photos on ours it was well worth the money

hi no ADRS as we are not bothered about sit down meals.

kids know - 6 year old is excited but 3 year old doesnt quite understand the magnitude of it. tbf nor do we really it hasnt sunk in yet. all my life ive wanted to do this trip and honestly thought id have to wait for (as cruel as it sounds) some inheritence money so the fact we'll be there in 13 weeks is hard to take in!

the photopass is a good idea do you know how much this costs and where to book? thanks

 

[bex7583]

we had the photopass plus and it was 199 dollars they have now changed the name of it since i went last year though i think you can buy it on the my disney experince page

i was same spent ages looking and getting prices and arguing with the dh that it was too expensive etc that it didnt seem real until we were sat on the plane ! really thought it was a trip we would never make

 

[wayneg]

Photopass Plus is now $199, $50 discount thru this link https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/plan/my-disney-experience/memory-maker/

We have done Photopass a few times (5?) to me its not worth anywhere near $149. Every time we have done it we have shared with 2 or 3 more families, I think we paid $30/family last time.

Plus side is you get pics of the whole family rather than one taking the pic but ask any photopass photographer and they will take the same pic using your camera.
Yes you get ride pics, not something that interests me but you get them if you want them.
Their photographers are very hit & miss, I would say we got 5 or 6 really good pics, again worth the $30 we paid but I would have been unhappy at $149.

Only you know if its worth it for your family but every year we get them they get put in the cupboard and never see light of day again, maybe something to consider being your first trip but I have over 30,000 digital photos now, mostly of Disney.